Twice when [Steve Shields] allowed play to continue, the Panthers got caught in their own zone for a frantic extra minute.

"I wanted to freeze it," Shields said. "When it was around me most of the time, it was just out of my reach or too much of a chance to go diving for it.  So I ended up poking it away.  We got caught in our end for a couple of minutes there when I couldn't get a handle on the puck.  We couldn't get it out and I couldn't get it to stick to me."

[GM/Coach Rick] Dudley said his reluctance to freeze the puck "scared the hell out of me," but he credited Shields' puck-handling as part of the reason the Panthers limited Vancouver's chances in the first 40 minutes.
 

Source:  Game recap from the Yahoo Panthers site, 11.28.03.

After the Panthers blew a three goal lead and lost to the Buffalo Sabres, 3-4: "It was up to us to play better and we didn't."
 

Source:  Game recap from the NHL.com site, 10.30.03.

Steve Shields made 30 saves for the Panthers, who finished a 2-1-0 road trip.  Shields' main concern was dealing with the highly skilled skaters on the [Ottawa] Senators, like [Marian] Hossa and Martin Havlat.

"I just tried to be patient," said Shields, who has won both of his starts this season.  They have a lot of skill over there and they wait for something to open up at a good chance."

The Senators had won their previous four games by a combined score of 18-4.

"We may have caught them a little off-guard tonight," Shields said.  "They weren't skating as well as they usually do, but I think we had a lot to do with that."
 

Source:  Michael Russo, the Sun-Sentinel, 10.26.03.

With the clock his only ally, Shields staved off wave after wave of intense Atlanta forechecks to improve to 5-0 lifetime over the Thrashers and hand them their first regulation loss (4-1-2-1).

"I watched us play for eight games, so I knew that's the rule of the jungle here," Shields said. "The goalies are expected to go out and play well and give the team a chance to win."

Shields, who had 33 saves, said, "They turned it up on us.  We struggled a little bit in our own end to get the puck out and it cost us quite a few chances against.  But we had a nice lead and I'm pretty proud the way the guys played."
 

Source:  David J. Neal, the Miami Herald, 10.26.03.

After the Panthers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-2:

Steve Shields' first start in the Panthers net saw him turn away 33 of 35 shots, allowing only two blasts from Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov.

The Panthers had escaped the second period despite being outshot 18-9, in no small part because Shields stacked the pads to stop Serge Aubin on a two-on-one and then made a stick save on Randy Robitaille's rebound try.

''Kovalchuk came down on a two-on-one,'' Shields said.  "I was looking for him to shoot.  Then he turned his body, and I thought he was going to pass it across.  I got over there fast enough that I found myself with more time than I thought I would, and I started to slip over.  So, I just stacked the pads.''
 

Source:  Game recap from the NHL.com site, 10.25.03.

"It's nice to get in there and get playing and get a little rhythm and at least get comfortable playing with the guys.  It feels good to be able to get in there and make a difference and make some big saves."
 

Source:  Game recap from the ESPN.com site, 10.25.03.

"I expected them to play a lot better than they did in the first period.  They turned it up a little on us, and it was good we had a nice lead."
 

Source:  The Florida Panthers official site, 10.05.03.

"I'm really excited to be headed where I am.  I think it will be a good opportunity and a nice place to play.  I know Roberto [Luongo] is a good guy and guys like playing with him.

"I've got aspirations to play a lot of games but right now I'm just interested in going down there and pushing Roberto and playing when I get a chance, and contributing when I get a chance to play.

"Now I know that I'm in an opportunity in Florida where it's a little different.  I'm going to go in there being a support player.  So that mind frame is a little different and I can gear myself to working hard and pushing the guys in practice.

"The last time I was in this position where it was clear cut what my role was, was when I was in Buffalo . . . As long as I know what the situation is ahead of time, I'm fine with it . . . I like to go out and work hard every day and the games that I don't play, I'll make sure the guys that are playing are ready to go.

"One thing that stands out about our team is I think the road record was good.  If you can get a team that plays well on the road, you've got a lot of potential ahead of you.  If we can shore up and make sure we win all the games we should win at home, then we should be right in the mix."

Read the entire transcript of this conference call.

Very tactful.